The Shinigami Girls
by aliceelric7
Summary: The witchling. The empath. The haft-breed. Apart, they are nothing. Together, these 3 new shinigami recruits will shake Dispatch to its core and change the hearts of a few of our favorite characters. But when enemies from the past resurface, do these girls truly have what it takes to save their friends, families, and lovers?
1. Chapter 1 the shinigami girls

The Shinigami Girls

**Disclaimer: I don't own Black Butler. Only characters of my creation belong to me. (And you can defiantly tell their mine ;) **

**I'd like to thank the Duchess Funtom for looking for my story and giving me a motivation to type this. Please look for her fan fictions when you have time. Now, on with the show!**

The Beginning

Sitting in an off-white room, in a place no human can ever go, three girls were waiting for their new mentors to arrive. Outside the room, in the hallway, their teachers were stewing over their predicament.

"No! I will not do it again!" screamed Grell Sutcliff, for what must have been the hundredth time that day. "I will not train another nanny-pramy kid to do my job!"

"Well at least this batch 'as some talent," said Ronald Knox, flipping through the file on his new apprentice. "And we're almost off probation. If we make sure this lot gets to the final exam, we'll be scott free."

"Indeed," sighed William T. Spears. "Well, we might as hurry this along." With one hand on his glasses, he opened the door that separated the two groups.

The three reapers stopped in shock at the sight before them. Two of the new recruits were fighting and the third was just letting them fight, sitting on the couch and reading a book! "What are you doing?" Will asked in his usual monotone. The fighting stopped instantly at the sound of his voice.

"What's the matter, sensei?" asked one of the girls who was fighting. She was quite a sight, even if she didn't have a black eye. Her long, bright-purple hair was wrapped loosely in a bun at the top of her head. Her cracked glasses and silver lip ring glinted in the light, drawing attention to her strange, shinigami eyes and cherub-like face. Taking advantage of the calm, the recruit put her opponent in a head lock. "We're only playing."

"Hey! Head locks are illegal!" shouted the second girl, trying to get out of the other's grip. This one seemed to have short, spikey black hair and was about a head shorter than anyone else in the room. She was blushing, the only color on her unusually pale skin.

"Let her go Ann," Said the last student, still reading her book. Her straight, long, _hot pink_ hair was splayed out on the armrest of the couch she was lying on. She yawned with boredom, the tan skin around her mouth stretching taunt.

Finally, one of the adult shinigamis **(note: all the girls are about 16)** was able to speak. "Which one of you is Maxine Wolvesbane?"

"That would be me," said the small, black haired girl, pulling out of the headlock she was in. "but, please, call me Max."

"Before we start with the tour, I have something to say." Will said as he grabbed Ronald's shoulder.

"You three are test cases," Will began. "You have all the attributes a member of the Shinigami Dispatch Society needs, but because there has never been a female shinigami, our higher-ups want to know if females can take the stress of the job. Personally, I believe women are much too fragile for our work." Will gave them all a glare in case anyone was thinking of interrupting.

"Since it is unlikely that you'll each be able to learn everything about our job, we've decided to train you all together. If you have any specific questions, ask your assigned mentor, but other than that, we will have to work together to get through this. Miss Wolvesbane you already know your mentor, Mr. Ronald Knox."

"Yes, I believe we're acquainted." Max smiled, then wrapped her arm around Ronald's, making him blush.

"Grell, your apprentice is Mary Towers. Miss Towers, this is your mentor, Grell Sutcliff." William gestured at Grell. The one who was reading stood up and stretched, closing her book as she did so. William could finally see the title of her book. It was a classic, called _Demons, Angels, and Other Supernatural Creatures a Shinigami Needs to Know._ Will remembered trying to get the publishers to include an entry on Grell, but they had refused.

"I'm Mary Towers, nice to meet you, sir," she said, smirking at her new mentor. The glint in her dark brown eyes revealed the fact that she was a human-born, one of the few humans who asked to be reborn as a Shinigami when they died.

"Don't you smirk at me, you presumptuous little twerp." Grell screamed, pulling out his chainsaw from God-knows-where. "I'll run you straight into the ground, you stupid-"

A blur moved in between them, and a round-house kick from the third and final apprentice knocked Grell back several feet. The look on her face was menacing.

"I'm known as Diane Harvey." She said with her voice low and frightening. "If you ever try to hurt Mary again, I will kill you without a second thought."

Diane turned to Will and her scary expression became one of mild amusement and annoyance. "So, I guess I get the sexist basturd as my mentor."

"Yes, Miss Harvey, and I expect to be treated with respect from one of your kind." Will replied, expressionless.

Anger flared in Diane's eyes for a moment, and then was replaced by indifference. "Whatever, sensei. Why don't you just show us to our rooms? We've had a long trip and need to crash."

"Hey, Harvey, I'm impressed," Ronald said as he walked beside Diane as the group walked out of the waiting room. "Not every newbie can knock Slutcliff back on their first day."

"It was no biggie." Diane replied with a smile. "I was always pretty good at martial arts before the Shinigami Academy. Plus, I've seen snails move faster than old Red back there." She gestured to Grell, who was sulking and rubbing the bruise on his chest that would form soon and muttering about revenge.

"So, Max," Ronald started as Diane moved away to talk to Mary. "Do you like this place so far? Do you have any questions for me?" he asked, blushing slightly. At the moment they stood on a platform, high above the glasses making facility. The many sounds of spectacle making echoed below.

"I like it here." Max said, so quietly that Ronald almost didn't hear her. "It feels like home." With one last glance at him, Max joined the others at the edge of the platform.

"Miss Harvey," Will said, not looking at her. "It has come to my attention that your glasses are cracked. Since you can't be hindered so in our line of work, you should go down there and get them fixed."

"Don't worry sensei." Diane replied, peeking at him from the corners of her eyes. "I have a glasses fixing case in my duffle bag. After all, what good is a shinigami who can't fix her own glasses?"

'That's actually a good idea.' Will thought, but didn't say. What he did say was this, "Come along everyone. Your rooms are just past here." They walked out another door, and, after a lot of twisting down hallways, they arrived at a door labeled 'Recruit Room 3.'

It was a white room with 3 twin sized beds. The only color in the room came from the duffle bags piled in the center of the room- navy blue, royal purple, and acid green. Max sprinted into the room to grab the blinding jade bag and jumped onto one of the beds. She started pulling clothing and other things out; even eventually going into the bag.

Diane walked into the room and plucked the purple duffle from the pile. She looked around the room and noticed that there were two doors on the same wall. Opening one, she called "Bathroom!" and then, "Kitchen! Shit, we're supposed to stay in these tiny ass rooms till finals-" She was cut off by a cry of triumph.

"I found them!" Max screamed from inside her duffle. She crawled out of the bag holding a box of Pocki Sticks. Popping one in her mouth, she said, "Ann, you can't have any cause you put me in a headlock. Here you go, Mary."

"Thanks, shorty." Mary said, ruffling Max's hair and taking some candy before going back to putting her cloths away.

Max turned to give some to their mentors, but stopped in her tracks. "They're gone." She stated, looking at the empty doorway.

"Good riddance." **(Guess who said that)**

Will, Ronald and Grell walked down one of the identical hallways that lead to the office.

"Hey, Willy," Grell said, glomming onto Will. "Why did you act like you opposed the idea of female Death Gods? Weren't you the one who got the Council to go for the idea in the first place?"

Shaking Grell off him, Will replied, "I needed a way to motivate them. If they feel like they're always being underestimated, they will try even harder than they would have originally."

"Makes sense…" Ronald murmured, feeling depressed because Max didn't notice that they left.

"Now everyone, get back to work," Will told them, fittling with his glasses as he entered his office. "We can't get behind in our paperwork."

**Finally done! This took forever, since I hate typing… Be grateful I took the time to write this. Hope you like it and please forgive any mistakes. Review or thousand years of spam!**

**Alice Elric 7**


	2. Chapter 2 diane harvey, special

**The Shinigami Girls**

**Diane Harvey, Special**

Diane woke suddenly from her usual nightmare, and, for a moment, could not remember where she was. She panicked and slammed her glasses onto her face. As Diane stared through her cracked lenses, yesterday's events came flooding back to her. "Oh…" she sighed in relief. "I'm finally at the London Shinigami Headquarters, after so many months of training at the Academy. If I can make it through a year of training, I'll be a shinigami at last." Diane sat up in bed to look at her still sleeping roommates. Max slept with her clothes all over the bed, dead to the world. But Mary was whimpering in her bed, caught in one of her many nightmares. Diane knew from experience that nothing could wake Mar-mar when she was like this, and that it was best to wait it out. Diane had been roommates with Mary, and Max, since the second month of the Academy. She focused on the crack in her glasses. It was very large. Diane was lucky that the lens hadn't already broke and cut her. 'Guess it's time to fix this,' she thought.

She carefully took off her spectacles and placed them on the bed in front of her. Diane carefully pinched the crack with her thumb and for-finger on her right hand. She let the wall inside of her, the one she had built up with such immense care, crumble in the slightest bit. Her arm jolted as magic raced down her arm in the form of purple sparks, the characteristic associated with witches. Diane directed the sparks to her eyeglasses and they sank into the crack, repairing it instantly with the hiss of molten glass. She rebuilt the wall in her mind that trapped her magic and put the newly-repaired specs on her face.

After her mother's death when she was seven, Diane had become obsessed with the supernatural, leading to her study of magic and, obviously, mastery of the subject. She became enthralled with the underworld, reincarnation, and life after death. Then she died. No one knew that Diane was really a human-born shinigami, since she had cast glamour **(she altered people's perception.) **over her eyes, to make her look normal. Diane knew that if the information of her origins ever became public, she'd lose a benefit in battle. Others would try to take advantage of her less-than-average senses. When studying, Diane had learned how to heal people and to repair small objects, like glasses. Later, when she was learning how to use glamour **(see above)**, she had gotten into a fight a fist fight with the school bully and her magic became wild and shattered his arm. After that, Diane kept a tighter rein on her powers, using only small amounts when she was alone.

Diane glanced around the room again and caught the glare from Max, who was now wide awake and sitting up in bed. "Why must you insist on doing that at night?" she asked, grouchy from her sudden awaking. Diane knew she was referring to her use of magic. "You know I can feel the power fluctuation every time you use your magic, yet you use it at one in the ducking morning anyway. Do you have a death wish? Because I will be happy to send you into the great beyond." She threatened **(and, yes, I used the word ducking, no, it is not a mistake. I say it in real life. Stop judging me)**.

"How can you always tell? I only used the smallest touch of my power. Barely anything at all. You're weird, Scary Hyper Girl," Diane teased. She had no idea how Max always knew when she used her powers and it was kinda creepy. But she'd gotten used to Max's oddness a long time ago.

"Scary Magic Girl," Max shot back and stuck out her tongue. "I need to borrow your black nail polish tomorrow. Mine is starting to come off." She examined her perfect nails with a critical eye.

"If you keep painting over them, the polish is only going to come off faster. And why are we talking about this?"

"No clue. But I'm going to sleep. Nighty-night."

"Sweet dreams."

**And… there's chapter two. As you can tell, I wasn't very interested in this chap, but it was needed, because Diane will be using a lot of magic in the future. All my ocs are going to be special in some way, but Ann's the most open about it. I swear, the other chapters shall be longer and hopefully funnier. So, please, my darklings! Favor, follow, and review!**

**Alice Elric 7**

**PS I just noticed that Alois is taller than Ciel. Mind. Is. Blown.**


	3. Chapter 3 max wolvesbane, acting

**The Shinigami Girls**

**Max Wolvesbane, Acting**

Max, along with Diane and Mary, sat in an empty classroom somewhere in the Shinigami HQ. Despite having been training there for almost a week **(I time-skip a lot)**, Max still had no idea of her location in the maze-like building. Would it kill someone to put up a couple of signs around this place!?

Her super-sensitive ears pricked when she heard three pairs of shoes coming down the hall, toward the room were in. one of the pairs was clicking, exactly like high heels. It's a definite Grell sound. Max drummed her fingers on the table she was sitting on, signaling her friends that they were coming. They'd perfected the art of talking to each other without worlds a while ago, back when Ann was paranoid about everything. Speaking of her, Diane slid off her desk and twirled lazily around the room. Mary gave no sign that she cared about their little game. She flipped her hair over her shoulder, their signal for 'I know what you're planning, nor do I like it.' It was a move she used quite a lot.

On Ann's next twirl, her trainee death scythe collided with Max's as their teachers walked into the room. Max and Diane had made a deal on the first day to fight whenever their mentors showed up. At the beginning, it was so Diane could hide the bruises from her late night adventures (Lord knows where that girl goes- nowhere pleasant, that's for sure), but now they did it for the shock value. Using their recently acquired scythes, the two girls started the faux battle, destroying the room while they're at it.

"Whoa, whoa!" Ronald yelled and leaped between them as they were about to attack again. "Come on, ladies, we've been here a week. Can't we just put aside our differences and be one big happy family?" He flashed a dazzling smile. "For me?"

The smirk Diane shot her was all approval Max needed. Together, they trapped Ronald's neck with their scythes, making it impossible for him to move without being cut. "I suppose we could get along…" Diane began, smug.

"…but then we'd m=need something to do, so…"

Would you be our new toy?" They asked at the same time, smiling the same Cheshire smile. Poor Ronald looked terrified by their teasing and Max felt guiltily.

"You two are insane." Mary stated, like it was something new. "Can't you two at least behave yourselves for five minutes?"

"No, Mommy." Diane replied and stuck out her tongue.

"That's enough." William said sternly. Max pouted at Ann as they returned their death scythes to their belts; Will was so mean. "Now that I have most of your attention," Max glanced at Mary; she had returned to her ever present book. "Grell has an announcement to make."

"Alright, brats!" Grell yelled, clapping his hands once. "Shinigami are known for having to go undercover. Since I doubt any of you have any formal acting training, you three, along with the four boys who are also working to be on Dispatch, will perform a scene from a play of your choose or of your own design. You have two days to practice, so get to work!" Grell stormed out like the melodramatic bitch he was.

"You can use the books in this room to help you find a suitable piece to perform. All your other work shall be postponed. Come, Ronald, we have paperwork to finish." And they left the room. As soon as they were out, Ann shot them the bird.

Max shut out Diane and Mary, and entered her own little world. 'What should I do?' she wondered. 'There's a slight chance for extra points if I make my own scene, but what to…' Then a memory from her past surfaced in Max's mind. 'Perfect.'

_Time Skip Powers Activate! __**(Because I'm bored and nothing important happens)**_

Day of the performance

It was finally Max's turn. In her opinion, the male recruits all did a horrible job acting, except this one scrawny boy who did the "to be or not to be" scene. He was pretty good. Big plus for not being a "sexist pig," as Diane called the others.

Diane had performed a scene from Macbeth, as the weird sisters. It suited her, and she got points for combining three parts into one.

Mary had acted out one of Juliet's scenes in "Romeo and Juliet." She was quite the little drama-queen. It was kinda startling to see Mar-mar so confidante.

Max stood up on the small stage thingy that their teachers had set up when they were trying to make this classroom look like a coffee house. Max snorted. It took more than dimmed lights and tacky decorations to make a- actually, that is all you need for a coffee house. Deciding to get it over with, Max started her monologue.

_ "Rejected. Alone._

_ I'm thrown in the gutter_

_ Kicked and beaten._

_ Why do they hate me so?_

_ 'Monster' they cry. 'Demon'_

_ Can they not see that I'm just a child?_

_ Are they blind?"_

_ "I beg for a meal._

_ I get scraps._

_ I ask for a bath._

_ And filth is thrown on me._

_ But in a way, _

_ I am grateful._

_ That they are not kind enough _  
_ To put me out of my misery._

_ That they cannot find it in their hearts_

_ To kill this poor, starved child."_

_ "Because, every day,_

_ There shall always remain,_

_ The smallest hope,_

_ A faint glimmer of something better._

_ I shall keep trying to approach it._

_ Inch by inch._

_ Until, one day, _

_ It will be close enough for me_

_ To reach out…_

_ And grab it!"_

Max's eyes burned out into the small crowd, filled with raw emotion. Slowly, Ronald stared a clap that people joined almost immediately. When Diane started to blow catcalls, Max became embarrassed and, blushing, ran into the hallway.

"Hey! Where ya goin'?" Ronald grabbed her arm to stop her from freeing. "Ya did a terrific job, best I've ever seen. What ya runnin' for?"

"You really think I was good?"

"Good? Good! Ya were great! I give you an A for style, an A for creativity, and an A for pure believability! Ya were absolutely perfect!"

Max smiled shyly at Ronald. She supposed life as a Shinigami won't be so bad.

Max sweat dropped at the size of homework piled on her desk the next day.

'Screw this. Not even a life time without pocki is worse than this job.'

**Finished! This chapter was strange to write, since I'm basing Max on my friend Germanhowl… their exactly alike, down to the pocki obsession. Anywhos, in a chapter or so, I will be remaking one of my favorite arcs! I'm not telling which one, but I will say that Sebastian and Ciel are in it! I'd also like to apologize for a lack of creative descriptions; I like to give my readers something to imagine. Follow, favorite, and review! Pretty please?**

**Alice Elric 7**


	4. Chapter 4 mary towers, bloody

**The Shinigami Girls**

**Mary Towers, Bloody**

The glint the knife, the drag of the blade, releasing blood, pain and sorrow. With her demons screaming, Mary bit her lip to keep from crying out, but created a new cut on her wrist anyway. It was always like this at first- the pain, then breathtaking pleasure. 'Careful, now. Not to close to the arteries,' she thought feverously, already high on the throbbing blood flowing out of her arms. The pain was delicious, and it always burned away the memories of abuse and death. Distantly, she heard someone walk into the bathroom. Why she had chosen the public one near the receptionists, Mary didn't know.

"Heal," the person murmured, and Mary hissed as she felt her skin melt back together and become smooth and scar-less again. "Good God, Mar-mar, why do you keep doing this to yourself?"

Right before Mary entered the fascinating Land of Blood Loss and Unconsciousness, she heard an unusually high voice say, "And what are you two doing?"

Grell had been passing the reception area when he heard something in the female bathroom. So, of course, he goes in, and what does he find? Little Mary, lying on the floor in a small pool of her own blood, without a scratch on her, and Diane, kneeling over with the saddest look on her face. When he spoke up, Diane's face immediately closed up and became an expressionless mask.

"Hell, Grell-sensei. I'm afraid Mary somehow managed to cut herself. I've gotten the wound patched up, but she's still lost a lot of blood. I'm going to take her back to our room so she can rest and collect herself." Diane picked up Mary and tried to brush past Grell but he grabbed onto her arm.

"No. I don't believe it. Tell me the truth, brat."

"Fine, but not here." Diane led Grell to her and Mary's room, being carefully not to be spotted by anyone, since both were covered in blood. For once, Grell wasn't freaking about the color red, because he had a pretty good idea how it got there.

"Alright," Diane set Mary down on her bed and turned to face Grell. "As long as I've known Mary, she has cut herself. From what I've been able to get out of her, something, maybe several something's, happened in Mary's human life. She has nightmares every night that she can't wake up from, and she once told me that she felt that someone was supposed to protect her but was never there. So, I decided to take that job. I'm going to protect her from everything I can." Determination sounded in her voice.

"So, that's why you over-reacted on the first day. You really thought I was going to hurt her."

"Yeah. The three of us have been through so much, and we haven't even scratched the surface of each other. We're broken." Diane paused of a moment to collect her thoughts. "Grell, could you do me a favor? Sometime in the future, talk to her about her past. Don't do it when she wakes up; she'll be on guard and won't tell you anything. But later, please talk to her."

"Of course. Mary doesn't look good in red anyway." Grell said, trying to make a joke out of the depressing situation.

"Thanks, sensei." Diane surprised him by giving him a kiss on the cheek. "Let's go so she can sleep." And they closed the door.

**You so didn't see that coming. Sorry if Grell was a bit OOC; I want to make him and Mary friends, so he's going to be a bit calmer than usual. I put a good bit of foreshadowing in this chapter; try and spot some of it. ANNOUNCEMENT! The next three chapters will be focusing on one character, Diane, because I'M REMAKING THE CIRCUS ARC! I'm so damn excited! See you next time, my darklings!**

**Alice Elric 7 **


	5. Chapter 5 diane harvey, flying part 1

**The Shinigami Girls**

**Diane Harvey, Flying Part 1**

Diane stood on a wooden platform high above the circus. Trying to get her used to field work, Will-sensei let her come along with him on an undercover mission at this 'Noah's Ark Circus.' Apartently a bunch of kids were going to die in a mantion and this circus has a major connection to it, or something. Diane wasn't really listening when Will was briefing her. "Hey, kid!" Dagger yelled from below. "You getting' scared or somethin'?"

"Hell, no! Just getting ready!" Diane yelled back, vowing to curse Dagger into oblivion for making her seem like a corward. She reached up to grasp the skinny trapeze bar and stepped off the platform.

Little known fact about Diane: before she came to be a shinigami, she was extremely skilled in the art of gymnastics, including the trapeze. So everyone, especially William, was astonished to see a 16-year-old girl fly through the air with complete control and grace. Diane swung around the perimeter of the entire tent, missing poles by centimeters at some points and finishing with a flip, and returned to the ground. Circus members flocked around her, gushing about her performance.

"All right, all right. That was ok." Dagger pushed through the crowd around her.

'Basturd. That was better than ok. That was absolutely duck-tastic.' Diane fumed.

"But, ye need more than fancy flyin' to get into this circus. What else can ye do?"

"Well, I can stilt-walk…" Diane was cut off by a very exuberant voice attached to a disturbingly cheerful person.

"Dagger! Why are you harassing this girl?" Joker called out, coming towards the group that contained Diane, Will, Dagger, and half a dozan other people. He didn't wait for an answer. "I was watching both her and the tall one, and they are perfect for the trupe. We need talented beginners like them, so both of y'all are in! This one," Joker pointed dramatically at Will. "Shall be known as Suit."

Will nodded and, to Diane's shock and horror, smiled slightly. **(Will smiled! It's the first sign of the apocalypse!) ** "I'm honored."

"And this beautiful lady," Joker kidnapped Diane's hands and swung her around. "Shall be known as… Royal!"

"EH?"

**Time Skip Powers Accivate!**

Now Diane was in the costume tent, cursing the day Joker was born **(Not literaly. It's a way to stop herself from killing people)**. 'Why the hell did he name me Royal, of all things? I get that purple is suppost to be worn by kings and my hair is purple, but its such a stupid name. And what in hell is this costume about?'

"Alright, dearie, we're done." Said one of the random trope members who was helping her with her ridiculous outfit. Diane knew it looked ludicrous, since she was used to loose yet funky clothing, but at least the stupid thing was purple. She left the fitting tent and entered the training area, where it looked like Dagger was speaking with 2 more newbies. 'Jeeze, do they really need somany people?' Both of the new-comers where dressed in black, but, were as one was a 25-yeat-old guy with black hair, the other was a 15-year-old boy with blue hair and an eye patch. **(Yes, I made Ciel 15, I'll explane later.)**

Diane frowned at them. She could sense a dark power rolling off them in waves, the same power demons had and controlled. She didn't even need to check their auras to know that they'd be pitch black. Most of the power was coming from the older one; she'd have to keep an eye on them.

"Man, I give up!" Dagger was saying now. "Another great new feller!? For real!? I can't lose to ye!"

"Another new-comer?" the little demon asked.

"There's this guy who's just joined this mornin'. 'E and tha girl he was with are amazin'! I don't know 'ere she is, but 'e's over there. They used to be civil servants or somethin' and he's serious like ye wouldna believe. Heeey, C'mon down 'ere fer a biiiit!" Dagger called "Suit!"

Diane noticed that the demons' faces became shocked at the sight of her sensei. She felt exactly the same. Whose bright idea was it to put him in a pocka-dot tie!? **(It was Yana Toboso's idea, Diane. Please don't kill me…)**

"I thought I sensed something unplesent… It was you two, was it? Good grief." Will extended his death scythe at the demons, missing them completely. "Goodness. Whatever did you come sniffing around to devour this time?" Will jumped off the wire and collapsed the tree-branch cutter, shooting down to stand in front of the two. He brought the blade up to the elder demon's neck. "You devil!"

Crap.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ **(I will be using these to indicate PoV change, so no more confusion.)**

Will and the devil glared at each other until they heard a tinkling laugh. Will turned to see Diane, but she was looked different that he's ever seen her.

Her hair was out of its usual bun, for once, and was curled into ringlets with a little tiara on top. She wore a purple one-piece with a little skirt and her cleavage peeking out of the front. But what shocked Will the most was her face. Her skin seemed to glow like the moon, and someone had drawn a line of silver stars down the right side of her jaw bone. Her signature lip ring was still there, but her glasses were missing, and, instead of yellow-green, her eyes were blue. A bright, blinding blue. Diane had told him earlier that she was wearing contacts, but Will couldn't shake the feeling that there was something eerily familiar about them…

Ciel stared as the beautiful purple-haired girl gave the reaper a hug and laughed. 'Beautiful? Did I really just think that?' he asked himself. He almost missed what the girl.

"Suit!" she exclaimed. "You said that with such a straight face, I could hardly tell you were joking!" She turned to face the shocked people in the crowd. "He's always telling odd jokes like that, even before we joined the circus. He's always going on about souls and stuff and he loves anything to do with the supernatural!" Slowly, the rest of the trope joined in with her careless laughter.

"I'm not one for joking," the reaper muttered before he reseived a nearly inpreceptional shove from Purple Girl. Ceil's curiousity peeked. How did this girl know the reaper?

"I'll introduce ye." Dagger said,chuckling. "These're the two more rookies who joined today. The tiny one's Smile. The big one's Black."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Royal." She curtsied, proper and low. Ciel became even more shocked, if that was possible. It was extremely unlikely to find someone who could curtsy in the correct Victorian fashion. Ciel was so surprised that his old manners took over and he bowed back.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Smile." He said, blushing. 'Damn it!' he thought. 'Why does she have to be so beautiful? Damn hormones!' **(A little explanation of demon biology: Demons have the power to change their age at will. The older the demon, the faster they change. Ciel, who is very young for a demon, has trying to age his entire immortal life, but was only able to age about 2 years. Since Ciel never hit puberty as a human, he is experiencing hormones for the first time because his body is only 15. As you can probably tell, Sebastian is extremely amused.) **'You have to focus, Ciel. You are still the Queen's Guard Dog. This is no time to stare at pretty girls!'

"I do not, by any means, wish to make nice with a noxious beast." William said before he stalked away. Dagger ran after him yelling about teamwork.

"Don't mind him." Royal told them. "He has a stick so far up his butt, he dosent even know its there. Well," she started to walk away as well. "I need to go practice. See you later!" Ciel was sad to see her go.

"Why is there a grim reaper here…?" Ciel asked.

"It's unusual for a grim reaper to go about snooping of his own accord. And that girl wasn't quite human, either… But now we can be sure of one thing. There's something going on at this circus after all!"

"Really," Will was talking to Black outside the training tent while Diane was waiting for the fight that she thought was to come in the shadows. "On top of the London District being perpetually understaffed, that I, a member of management, must go out into the fiels to retrieve souls simply because the retrieval division is missing one employee… What a travesty."

Diane tuned out her mentor and sighed. This was boring, why weren't they fighting yet? Quickly and hopefully, Diane turned back when she heard Will's death scythe extend. she crouched, ready to fight, but saw Will bearly shake his head "no."

"I refuse to work overtime free of charge." Will snarled **(Heaven forbid Will ever having to work overtime)**. "I will hunt you down if you get in my way."

The little demon, Smile, arrived, so Diane figured that she wasn't needed anymore. For what she'd seen, Smile was in control of Black, most likely by a contract. Funny, a demon contracted to another demon. Smile was even kinda cute, too. 'What are you thinking!' Diane yelled at herself. 'He's a demon, a murderer, a soulless cretin. There is no way he's cute!' she scolded herself until she reached the main tent. Peeking inside, she saw that almost all the rookies were gathered there.

"…Now here's what ye've been waiting forrr! Time to announce room assignments for the rookies!" Diane moved to the front of the group; she'd been told earlier that she'd be sharing tent 8 with Freckles, but there was a cotin there, so she figured that they may have another roommate. "The results of the impartial lottery are as follows- Smile will be in tent 8 with Freckles and Royal." Joker gestured to each of them in turn. Diane glared at him; his death will be long and torcerous.

"And Black will be in tent 9."

"!? Seba- Black and I wont be in the same tent!?" Smile asked, looking quite panicked.

"Ah-ha-ha-ha! Smile sure is sweet on Black. You gotta learn to be more independent!" Smile tried to argue, but Joker cut him off. "And Black's roommate is… Suit!"

Instantly, Diane's snickers were muffled by her hand as Black and Will-sensei glared at each other hard enough to break glass.

"This is the worst." Will pushed his glasses back in place in annoyance.

"My thoughts exactly."

'Well, this should be entertaining.' Diane thought. 'Demons and Reapers sharing tents with each other. Next thing you know, we'll be exchanging cell numbers and planning play dates.'

"You'll sleep on the upper bed," William told the devil he had to share a tent with. "This line marks the edge of my own private territory, so please do not set foot beyond it. I say! Why must I live with a devil…? Let me make one thing clear from the outset. Unlike demons, grim reapers need to sleep. Don't make noises late at night and disturb my rest."

"My kind does enjoy sleep as a luxury, however," the devil turned to stare at Will. "I am curious about something. What sort of creature is Miss Royal? She has done a good job of masking her scent, but I can still sense something unhuman about her."

Will looked at Sebastian from the corner of his eye. "I'm surprised you were able to sense her; she is my apprentice, a shinigami in training. When I told Diane we were going undercover, she became so excited that she disguised herself, hiding her scent and even going as far as wearing colored contacts. She's crazy."

'So, Diane, the death goddess in training.' Sebastian mused. 'That explains how the two know each other, but a shinigami shouldn't be able to hide what they are so well. There is something different about her. It should make the game more… _interesting_.'

"U…nn. Se-bas-tian?" Ciel asked, not fully awake.

"What're you sayin', Smile!? WAKE UP!" Ciel shot up in bed, covering his right eye. He couldn't let any one see the contract sign. Glancing around, he only saw Freckles; Royal was nowhere to be seen, to his disappointment.

"Yer finally awake. Rookies gotta get up early and make the mornin' grub! Rpyal's already workin', so no takin' it easy and stayin' in bed!" Slowly, Ciel trudged out of bed ans started to get dressed. "TOO SLOW! Smile, im gonna leave you behind!"

"Coming!"

**Later….**

"Can you really call that personal grooming?" Sebastian scoffed. "It seems you cannot even dress yourself properly."

"I was in a hurry." Ciel huffed. He didn't like his servant mocking him.

"Oh, Smile!" a voice cried out. Ciel turned to see Royal jogging towards him. She was wearing men's clothing that was unflattering to her figure **(And he got an eyeful of that last night… that sounded perverted.)** and her hair was pulled up into a loose bun, held together by two chopsticks. "The knot on your eyepatch is coming undone. Don't worry, I'll fix it." She turned him around so she could redo the offending knot, oblivious to Ciel's embaressment. "There we go! Its fixed!"

"Thanks, Royal…" Ciel blushed. He glared at Sebastian, who was smirking at the scene.

"No problem. Come on, we have to start making breakfast." And she rushed away, moving towards the food tent.

"Sebastian, do you know what kind of creature she is yet?"

"No, Bochan."

"Find out. Find out everything there is to know about her. That's an order." Ciel's one blue eye flaired pink for a moment.

"Yes, Bochan."

Sebastian didn't lie to Bochan, since he didn't know what else Royal- or Diane- was. It was now clear to him that she wsa something strange, an unnatural mix of things. It was also clear to him that Bochan was falling for the girl. It was amusing; the demon and the reaper. This game was going to get quite interesting indead.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^**Later**

"Hey! Heyyy! What happened to your sense of balance from the tryout!? These are the basics, the real basics!" Freckles helped Smile off the ground for the sixth time that day. They looked up to see Black balancing on a tower of balls and Will on a tower of tubes. Diane walked over too her fellow teenagers and whisled, long and slow. "They're really something! You gotta get back on trakc quick if you want to catch up to them, Smile! Royal," Freckles turned to Diane. "We're gonna take a shower. Do you want to come with us?"

"No, I'll come in a bit." Diane waved the two off. 'Damn! Will-sensei might as well write it in the sky that he's not human.' She walked out of the tent, fuming. Diane wandered aimlessly around, until she saw a small figure shivering. It was a soaking wet Smile, curled up on the ground. Diane pulled a random towel out of the air and through it over him. "You'll catch a cold if you don't dry off soon."

Smile looked up at Diane in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"You mean, 'What am I doing beside you,' or, 'What am I doing at the circus'?"

"Both."

"Well the reason I'm squatting beside you is that you really will get sick if you stay wet any longer, even if you are pretty hot." 'Did I just say that?' "As to why I'm in the circus, lets just say, I have a favor to repay. Come on," Diane lifted Smile into a standing position. "Lets get you back to our tent and into some dry clothes, 'kay?"

It was the first performance since Diane had joined the circus, and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't excited. Everyone rushing around, trying to get ready on time. It made Diane wish she was preforming. She saw Will standing off to the side and desided to join him.

"So, 'Suit,'" Diane emficised his alias, then dropped her voice to a low whisper. "When do we get out of here? These demons know you're a shinigami and suspect I am too. I know you want me to get used to fieldwork, but this is getting redicoulous!"

"We'll wait another day or so," he told her. "Then you and the others must get in position in time for the massacre."

"Hey, Suit!" Joker called out. "Big Sis Wendy here sprained her ankle and can't perform. Big Brother Peter won't be able to support her replacement's weight, so we need you to go instead."

"Alright, I shall." Will agreed. "Who is Miss Wendy's replacement?"

"Why must I pair up with you?" Will snarled at the devil.

"I do not want to either. But we cannot help it."

"I could replace one of you." Diane offered. Will sighed then tried to explain.

"You would not be able to support either of us, Royal. Go back to your tent; you can't help."

"Sexist basturd."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^**Time Skip (I don't want to go through all that crap.)**

Diane watched as Black stepped out of Snake's tent with the little buggers hissing after him. She stepped out from the shadows. "Dogs shouldn't wander around without their masters. They could be mistaken for strays and be put down."

"Ah, Miss Royal. I've been meaning to speak with you privately for a while now. Or," his eyes became slited and pink, a sign that he was going to attack. "Would you prefer for me to call you Diane?"

**And cliffhanger. That took forever for me to type; be greatful. I was going to have a small fight scene in this chapter, but I decided that this was long enough, so Part 2 is going to start with epicness! I wanted to mention: when I get farther into this story, I will set something up called ****Shinigami Girl Fluff****. If you want a certain characters to be together, write a review of what you want and I'll make it a one-shot! ~Night, peoples!**

**Alice Elric 7**


	6. Chapter 6 diane harvey, flying part 2

**The Shinigami Girls**

**By Alice Elric7**

**Chapter 6: Diane Harvey, Flying Part 2**

From where we left off…

"Royal's fine. I am, at the moment, undercover." To Sebastian's surprise, the godling seemed unconcerned that he knew her name. "When I first sensed that you were a demon, I was absolutely thrilled." She gave him a very sadistic looking smile.

"And why is that?" They leisurely started to circle each other, like sharks circling their prey. Only their prey was each other.

"Because it's been eons since I've had anyone good to fight." Using her Shinigami speed, she teleported behind Sebastian and brought her minuscule death scythe down on his head. Sebastian caught it by the handle. "Do you know how boring being a grim reaper is? It's just work, work, work, all day, no time to play. This is fun." She maneuvered to kick him in the face. He evaded the kick, but as a result, he had to let go of Diane's weapon.

Diane back flipped a few times before rushing Sebastian again. Medal clanged on metal as he brought out his silverware out of his tailcoat to fight her properly. 'She's good.' Sebastian thought. 'Her strength is almost demonic, somehow, and now that I'm close enough, her soul smells simply… _delicious_.'**(She's so strong because she is using her magic to boost her strength FYI) **In his careless moment of thought, Diane managed to rake him across the chest. It was hardly a killing blow, but was painful enough to be a bother. He threw his knifes at her with his deadly aim, but she easily knocked them out of the air with the exception of one, which barely managed to scratch her cheek.

"Enough!" a voice yelled and a pole extended in front of Sebastian to stop him from attacking again. He looked up to see William T Spears standing on a random tree limb, and then looked back at the girl. To his satisfaction, she was holding her right side, which was soaked with blood, so he'd gotten under her guard at one point.

"Hello, sensei. Do you want to fight the demon too?"'

"Diane, do you have any idea who this demon is?" William asked, annoyed at his young apprentice. Sebastian smirked; it was a rare event that the reaper showed emotion.

"No. Should I?"

"No… it's unimportant. I told you to go back to your tent and you didn't listen. Be glad I'm not going to immediately fail you so you'd never become a member of Dispatch. Now go get that cleaned up before someone sees it." He stared pointedly at her bloody side.

"Yes, William. I'll do that." She turned to smirk at Sebastian. "Bye-bye, devil. That was fun. We should get together more often."

"Diane…"

"Yeah, yeah, sensei. I'm going." And she walked away, obviously trying not to limp. Sebastian chuckled at the sight.

"What an interesting creature…" Will jumped down from his RTL (random tree limb) and brought his own death scythe to Sebastian's throat.

"Don't you come near her, devil!" Will growled, unusually angry. "She is one of the most promising shinigami to ever train for Dispatch, even if she's a little rough around the edges. We don't need your scum distracting her from her work." With one last glare, Will stalked away, anger rolling off him in waves.

"So, you too…"  
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Back in her tent, Diane carefully lifted her ruined shirt over her head. As pain wracked her body, she inspected the gashes in her side. There were 4, only inches apart, and were obviously from Black's knifes. 'Damn, he was fast! He is better than any other person I've ever fought, except maybe Max on a bad day; none of the others were ever able to wound me like this.' Diane placed a hand over the cuts and let her magic flow out. She hissed in pain as her skin melted back together, forming 4 angry-looking scars. Diane stopped before those were healed, though- they'd be great reminders for her to be more careful. Without warning, Freckles came into the tent, wearing her Doll outfit, to see a semi-dressed Diane with 4 horrible-looking scars on her side.

"Oh, hey Doll." Diane said, unconcerned. She reached into her bunk for a new shirt, hiding the ruined one before anyone could see it. "How was the show? I'm sorry I couldn't watch it, but I tripped right before it started and my scars began to act up, so I had to take care of them.

"It's ok… do ye mind if I ask 'ere ye got those?"

"Not at all. I was in an accident almost a year ago and, since I couldn't get proper medical service, they never healed correctly." She lied smoothly. Diane had been in an accident though- after all, all good lies need a kernel of truth.

"Ye should let Doc take a look at 'em, he could help… anyway, are ye surprised I'm a member of tha first tere?"

"No. I realized it when we were first introduced, but since you didn't say anything, I figured it wasn't any of my business. You should hurry and get changed. If we're lucky, we'll be able to sneak into the food tents and I'll make cookies."

"Yay! Cookies!"

"He has asthma." Doc told the three performers. Doll and Diane had come across Smile and Black on their way to the food tent. Smile had been coughing up so bad, he was throwing up, but now he was asleep.

"Asthma… you say? In all the years I've been with him, this is my first time seeing him in this state."

"If he hadn't had an attack in so long, I'd think the asthma was just about cured, but-" Diane tuned him out and stared at the little demon.

'How can a demon get sick? He may be young, and weaker than most demons, but he shouldn't be able to contract a human cold. Though I have to admit, he looks so cute when sick and WHERE DID THAT THOUGHT COME FROM!?' She noticed that Smile had just opened his eyes. "Thank goodness, you're up!"

"Water…" he rasped. Black held a cup to his lips for him to drink from.

"Smile. Didn't you have horrible asthma when you were little? It can be fatal, so you must be careful even if you think you've recovered from it. You stay in bed until your fever and cough are gone! Got it?" Doc turned to the rest of them. "Now as for the rest of you, out! Back to your tents!"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^** Major Time Skip**

Sebastian exited Beast's tent, finished with his 'duties.' He glanced up when he heard someone laughing above him.

"Heh. Don't you look smug." Diane chuckled, lounging on top of an empty cage, staring at her small reapers blade. "What did you say to get her to sleep with you? I thought she was infatuated with that Joker."

"Good evening, Miss Royal. Are you looking for a rematch?" His eyes flared a demonic pink. "Because I'd be happy to comply."

"Hell no," she jumped off the cage and started to walk towards Sebastian. "William would kill me if I got injured again, especially so close to the assignment he's given me. Besides, I don't want to ruin my shirt." She tugged on the bottom of her violet tank top. "I just have a question to ask you, devil." Diane stopped a few feet from the butler. "Why is your master weaker that a normal demon?"

"Heh." Sebastian snickered. This girl was smarter than he'd originally thought. "That's because he isn't a normal demon. He is, in fact, a human-born demon."

She raised an eyebrow. "A human-born. I thought only shinigami could be human at one point… I guess that explains why he got a cold." Diane tried to walk past him, but Sebastian grabbed her arm tightly.

"Miss Royal," Sebastian hissed in her ear. "I believe it's proper for you to answer a question of mine, since I answered one of yours. What are you? You are certainly can't be a normal shinigami."

Diane ripped her arm from his grasp. "Why isn't it obvious, dear Black?" She spun around. "I'm simply… special."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^**Time Skip**

Diane stood a top Baron Kelvin's manor, green eyes back and glasses on her face. Her recently retrieved trench coat flapped in the wind. 'It all comes to an end tomorrow.' She thought.

"Hey, Ann. You nervous." Asked Mary, a worried expression on her face. She wore black jeans and hoodie, the only color being her chocolate skin and bubble-gum pink hair.

"Yeah, a little." Diane lied. She was very nervous. They'd never been on such a big assignment. And most of the victims were children. It also didn't help that they were separated from Max, who was going to collect the souls of the circus troupe. "I'm going to be gone for a while. You want anything?"

"No, just be back in time for most of the deaths."

"Okay. See you, Mar-mar."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^**Time Skip to Massacre (Diane is still not back)**

Ciel stepped out of Sebastian's arms when they arrived. "Is this it?" he asked.

"Yes, Bochan. This is Baron Kelvin's manor." Ciel sighed. He'd never imagined that being the Queen's Guard Dog again would be so tiring. He had a new manor, new servants, and his old title, after proving himself to be a Phantomhive.

"Of course it is." A voice scoffed behind them. Ciel and Sebastian quickly turned to see a tan girl of 16, wearing all black and with pink hair. She glared at them, carefully pushing her glasses up to her dark brown eyes. "I've been watching this manor for days in preparation for this massacre; two demons such as yourselves will not be allowed to steal any souls from here, for it shall result in extra homework." The shinigami took her small death scythe out of her hoodie pocket and Ciel was struck by how much this girl acted like William T Spears. **(That's because Mary is slightly based off Will "snicker")**

"Fear not, Madame." Ciel told her, his diplomatic side showing. "We are here in the name of the queen; I swear that neither myself nor my butler shall consume a single soul inside this manor."

"A promise from a demon means nothing." She sighed. "I suppose there is no helping it. I'll have to accompany you to guaranty the safety of the souls. This should be no problem since shinigami can only be seen by humans if the shinigami wishes it."

Ciel was about to reply when Joker opened the door of the manor. "Welcome, Earl of Phantomhive. We've been expecting you."

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^**Time Skipping cause I'm bored**

Baron Kelvin was lying on next to dead on the floor, along with Joker. "They'll destroy your manor, and kill your servants, just to find someone who isn't there!" Joker exclaimed hysterically.

"Oh, you mean the circus trope?" Ciel turned to the death god; he'd almost forgotten she was there. She was writing something in a small, leather book. "They are scheduled to die tonight as well at the Phantomhive manor. The first one should die right about… now."

**Hey, darklings. Sorry for not writing for a while. Evil teachers decided to give me lots of homework and projects. OK, so I have 2 questions for all those who read this story.**

**Should I turn Ciel into a shinigami? I never really liked him as a demon, but the story doesn't need him to be a reaper. (conflicted…)**

**I've been feeling bad that Diane has two extra chapters, but Mary and Max don't. So, should I rewrite the Zombie arc for them?**

**Please review so I'll be inspired to write faster!**

**Alice Elric7**


	7. Chapter 7 diane harvey, flying part 3

**The Shinigami Girls**

**By Alice Elric7**

**Chapter 7 Diane Harvey, Flying Part 3**

Max knelt beside the large man known as Jumbo. She carefully poked him in the chest with her death scythe and his cinematic record spilled out of the small cut. Max watched his life flash before her, then sighed. "Son of the prostitute, Mary-Sue Lynn, real name unknown, 26 years. Cause of Death: Massive blow to the head and blood loss. Time of Death: February 9th 12:26 am. Soul collected by shinigami recruit Max Wolvesbane.

She stood up and stretched. "Oy, tonight's going to be long." Max noticed the next soul she was to collect and started to walk towards the place where the body would fall to the ground.

**Time Skip ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^**

Sebastian shoved his hand through Doll's chest, ripping out her heart. Ciel shuttered as her limp body hit the ground. Her cinematic record rolled slowly from her wound and made its way over to the shadows of the nearby forest. The glowing film strips illuminated a pale face, light glinting off of glasses and a lip ring.

Ciel swallowed a gasp as Royal emerged from the darkness. Her purple hair was pulled back into its usual bun, but that was the only thing familiar about her. Instead of the plain clothes she wore at the circus, Royal was wearing black skinny jeans with chains and a purple tank top, a black trench coat over the assemble. Her normally smiling mouth was pulled into a straight line and in her hand was the small death scythe given to reaper trainees. But the worse thing was her eyes. Once a bright, shining blue, they were now a glowing, yellow-green, the color of the shinigami.

"What's wrong, Smile?" She asked in a cruel tone. "Don't you like what I really look like?"

"Royal," Ciel said in a heartbroken manner. "How are you a reaper? Your eyes were blue." Internally, Ciel reprimanded himself. 'Stop nursing your betrayed feelings and act like an adult! Where is the cold and calculating Ciel Phantomhive you know you are!?'

"I used contacts." Royal shrugged. "And don't call me Royal. It's such an annoying alias. My real name is Diane Harvey." Her haunting eyes left his and landed on Sebastian. She gave him a sadistic smirk. "Hello, Black. You ready for that rematch now?"

Realization ran through Ciel. "Sebastian!" he yelled. "You knew she was a shinigami and you didn't tell me!?" Ciel was furious at his servant and vowed to punish Sebastian as soon as possible. **(Me: well, that sounds kinky… Diane: Get your head out of the gutter and finish the damn chapter)**

"Yes, My Lord," Sebastian replied. "But after several conversations with Miss Harvey, I've come to the conclusion that she is no normal shinigami. And I believe your orders were to learn everything there was to know about her, am I correct?"

Ciel gnashed his teeth in frustration, but then Diane took this moment to speak up.

"Sebastian?" Diane looked a little shocked and very amused. "Your name is Sebastian Michaelis, then. And that would make you Ciel Phantomhive." She turned to Ciel and laughed. "Ha! So you're the demons who got Will-sensei stuck on probation. Isn't that…" Her sadistic smirk came back. "… Amusing." And she charged them.

Sparks flew as her scythe connected with silverware. Using the momentum of her charge, Diane flipped over Sebastian and swept his feet out from under him. The two fought savagely, neither side gaining an advantage until Sebastian kicked her in the jaw and made a move to stab her in the chest. "Don't kill her!" Ciel shouted desperately and without thinking.

He shouted too late.

Diane's blood sprayed out of the gash and she fell to her knees, clutching her chest. "That won't kill you." Sebastian said as he started to walk away from her. "I stabbed you through the lungs, but, because you are a shinigami, you won't die. You'll never heal all the way, and you will never be able to reap again, but you'll still live." He sounded smug.

"Heh." Diane coughed, blood covering her lips. Ciel thought she looked like a fallen angel covered in the red, salty liquid, sending the beast inside of him roaring. **(Me: I just gave Ciel a blood fetish O.O Diane: bitch, I'm killing you later) **"I haven't been hurt so badly since I told Max her favorite candy was stupid while she was PMSing and she ripped out my liver. _Heal_." Ciel stifled a gasp as purple sparks—the color of her hair—flowed down her arms and into her wound. He watched the blood stop flowing as her chest stitched itself back up, the only indication she was ever hurt being the gaping holes in her shirt. Diane tore the remains of the garment off, revealing a black sport's bra and skin unblemished save for a few scars across her stomach. There was no sign of the crippling blow.

"Impossible…"

"Nothing's impossible, my dear Phantomhive," Diane stood back up, twirling her reaper's scythe like a baton. "Only improbable."

"DIANE ROSE HARVEY!" A voice yelled from the burning manor they'd all forgotten was there. "IF YOU DON'T GET TO REAPING SOULS RIGHT NOW, I WILL TELL WILLIAM ABOU YOUR SECRET CAKE STASH!"

Diane winced. "God, Mar-mar, do you have to tell the world?" She muttered then looked back at Ciel. "See you later, Phantomhive." And, using an enormous amount of strength, Diane jumped to a tree near the manor, over 50 yards away, and then leapt into the fire.

**YES! The circus arc is over! I love the manga but I can't write about this arc, it's been driving me crazy! Sorry that this is so short, I just really want to finish this… well, that's it! See you next time in The Shinigami Girls!**

**Coming Up Next: Max Wolvesbane, Drinking**


	8. Chapter 8 Max Wolvesbane, Drinking

**Max Wolvesbane, Drinking**

**Warning: contains under age alcohol consumption **

It was the last job of the day. The to-die list told the two reapers that their next 'client,' as Max liked to call them, was a five-year-old boy named Jeffery Banks. Max and her mentor, Ronald Knox, stood in a hospital room. It looked like it was meant to be cheery, but the scene before them was the most depressing thing in the world. The boy was strapped up to life support, his bald head gleaming in the fluorescent light. The poor child was dying of cancer.

"Ronald, can't we-" Max tried to say, but was cut off.

"No, we can't save him. Even if we did, the boy would still have cancer. The only thing we'd be doing is prolonging his suffering." Ronald bowed his head, his hair shielding his eyes from view. "You go ahead, Max."

Max felt a flash of anger before depression took her over again. She understood why Ronald didn't want to do this. He didn't want to be the one to let this boy die **(plus, his death scythe is a lawnmower; he'd have to run the kid over.)**. Suddenly, the heart-rate monitor flat lined. "It's time." Max stated, taking out her trainee scythe.

The child's cinematic record spewed from his chest with a touch of her scythe, and Max could see his entire life. Jeffery Banks had a short life full of pain and sorrow, but since he had done nothing noteworthy in his life, he couldn't be saved. His cinematic record then ran out and the boy was dead.

"Subject: Jeffery Banks, 5 years. Cause of death: leukemia. Time of death: 11:43 PM. Soul collected by Junior Officer Ronald Knox and Shinigami Recruit Max Wolvesbane." Ronald said in a monotone while writing those words.

"We should get out of here before any doctors come." And they jumped out the hospital window, into the dark London night.

Time Skip ************************************************** **********

They stopped in front of a shady looking pub and Ronald tried to go in, but Max grabbed his arm.

"Ronald, aren't we supposed to head straight to HQ once our reaping is done?"

"Max, after a night like tonight, the only way you'll get some sleep is if you've had a couple drinks. Trust me."

And Max did trust him, not just because he was her teacher, but because Ronald had grown to become a friend. And she desperately needed a friend right now. So Max followed him into the pub. They sat at the bar and Ronald ordered two beers for them. When the bartender returned, he said, "Good to see you again, Mr. Knox. It's been a long time since your last visit." Then he disappeared.

"So, you drink here often?" Max asked before taking a gulp of beer.

"I used to a lot. Back when my friend Eric was still alive. We used to go drinking after jobs like that." Ronald replied with a sad look.

"Was Eric your…uh… boyfriend?" Max blushed and turned away. The beer was already starting to make her silly.

"What the bloody hell would give ya that idea? Eric was Alan's boyfriend." Ronald didn't notice Max flinch slightly at the name. "But now… they're both gone."

"I'm sorry. I know what it's like to lose friends."

"They weren't friends. They were traitors, betrayers of the shinigami way of life." Ronald said in a tone that implied that he didn't mean it. "Can we talk about something else?"

"You wanna play a game? It's called Elsewhere."

"How do you play?" Ronald asked, still looking depressed. They drained the rest of their beers and he gestured for two more.

"The first person says a place they want to go. Then the second person says who they'd want to go with them. Then they start planning different parts of the imaginary trip to make an imaginary vacation."

"Sounds stupid." Ronald stated, but backpedalled at Max's glare. "I mean, cute. Didn't I say cute?" Threatened by Max's glare, he started the game. "Ok, ok, we'll go to… Athens, Greece."

Three beers each later, Max and Ronald, along with dream Diane and Mary, went to Athens, excluding Will and Grell, because 'Will is a buzz kill and Grell's just too creepy.' They left under the lie that they were going to help the Greek shinigamis. Laughing at a joke Max made about the Parthenon, Ronald said, "Ok! Where do ya want to go next?"

"Let us go to _Parie!_" Max exclaimed in a lousy French accent that that sent them into giggles. "Who's coming with?"

"You." Ronald murmured with his head on the table.

"And…?" Max prompted.

Suddenly, Ronald's face was only inches from her own. Max could smell the beer on his breathe as he said, "Just you." He cradled her face in his hands, as if she was a delicate flower. Max's cheeks lit up as Ronald started kissing her face—her forehead, her nose, her chin, but never her lips. He rested his forehead on hers to stare deeply into Max's eyes, their glasses touching.

"Max Wolvesbane," He began. "I loved you since I first saw you, trapped in Diane's headlock. I loved how every day, you and her fought, always trying to prove yourself as strong a fighter as she. I love how you try to move past the heartbreak that those people caused you. I love your eyes, your hair, your voice, your everything. I need to know. Do you love me back?"

"Ronald Knox," she scolded. He hung his head, thinking he was going to be rejected. "What person couldn't love you?" His head snapped up. "You are the most wonderful person I could ever meet. You are one of the few people who could make me truly laugh. Everything around you seems brighter. So, in answer to your question, I truly love you," And Max closed the short distance in between their lips.

The kiss was tentative and sweet, completely different from what Max though a kiss from a drunk Ronald would be like **(yes, she did have fantasies.)**. He tasted of beer, of course, and of something that was purely Ronald, and it was completely addicting. Max ran her fingers through his silky hair, pulling him closer. She could feel one of his hands at the back of her head; the other was wrapped around her waist. They broke apart at the same time, panting, when they heard a very familiar giggle.

_"~Fufufu… Looks like someone managed to worm their way into my __dear__ Maxine's heart!"_ Undertaker snickered.

"Undertaker!" Max slurred in delight before throwing herself into his arms, still quite drunk. "I haven't seen you in years! Why haven't you visited me?" She asked as Undertaker ruffled her hair.

_"I've been busy, my little puppy~."_ He then noticed Ronald's confused expression. _"Oh, Mr. Knox, are you puzzled?~Don't worry, I won't take our precious puppy away from you. I'm the one who discovered dear Maxine, and made sure she was accepted into the Shinigami Training Academy when she was the right age."_

"Yup! Undertaker gave me my first pair of glasses after I went blind when I was ten. Whenever I would go to a new town, I'd always look for Undertaker, but he was never there. Then, when I was 16, he found me again!" She giggled before going back to sit on her bar stool.

"Well, that's… good, I guess." Ronald managed to say before his head slammed down on the counter. A loud snore rumbled from his chest and Max giggled again.

_"~Hehehe… seems like neither of you are in any condition to get home. Come, little puppy, it's your bed time."_ Undertaker through the slumbering Ronald over his shoulder, before taking Max's hand and leading her out of the pub.

**Mary's PoV ************************************************** ************

Mary stood up and stretched, finally finished with all of her homework. 'They must design it to mimic the workload we'll have to do if we pass the final exam.' She thought. 'It's so bland.' Mary noticed that across the room, Diane was asleep at her desk. Mary smirked at her looking so cute. She walked through the mass of desks of her fellow students to wake Diane up. "Wake up, Ann; you fell asleep at your desk."

"Mommy?" Diane asked, still asleep.

"No, it's Mar-mar. Did you get all your homework done?"

"I finished that hours ago. I was waiting for you and Max." She finally opened her eyes. "Where is Scary Hyper Girl anyway?"

"I have no clue." Mary replied with a frown. "She never came back. I wonder where she is. Anyway, come on. Let's go back to our room."

Supporting most of Diane's weight, Mary walked them down the multipule hallways that led to their room. It's been a month since the three had arrived here, but only Mary knew how to find any place in these nondescript halls. She opened the door, to their room, only to close it immediately at the shocking sight inside.

Mary had seen Max sleeping in bed… with another person. And, the worst part was that Mary recognized the male in the bed. Mary shuddered. She was so going to kill Max in the morning. And it was so soon after her last attack…

**Flashback! ************************************************** *******

It was the night after the Massacre at the manor, and Mary was completely bushed. Diane had left her earlier in the night, saying that she was going to practice in the gym, so she was alone as entered their room.

"NGH!" Max groaned on the floor, clutching her stomach. Mary automatically rushed to her side. "NO! Get away! You smell like _it_!" She moaned, twisting away.

"Max, you have to get up! I need to take you to the infirmary!"

"NO! They can't help, they'll only make it worse!"

**END of Flashback! ************************************************** ********

"Come on, Diane. Maybe Will will let us crash in the office for the night."

**Timeskip****************************************** ***************

"Thank you, William, for letting us sleep on the couch in your office. We'll be quiet while you finish your work." Mary said respectfully as she dropped a limp Diane onto the couch.

"I'll talk to the janitors about mice in the morning, but I don't see why you two couldn't stay in your-" Will was interrupted by a thud. They looked to see a sleeping Diane on the floor.

"Come on, Ann, get back on the couch." Mary sighed.

"No, no, Mommy. I'm fine." Diane muttered, still asleep. "You're the one who's sick, you sleep up there."

Mary raised an eyebrow at Will before she lied down on the couch and fell asleep.


	9. Chapter 9 Mary Towers, Feeling

**Chapter 9 Mary Towers, Feeling**

_Blood rolled off her fingers as Mary pinched the thorns off the rose in her hand. The crimson liquid pooled at the bottom of the bowl where she was placing the sharp barbs that were piercing her skin._

_ "You're __**such**__ a good friend, Mary." A feminine, nasal voice mocked in her ear, though Mary could not see her. "Because you felt so guilty for something that didn't happen, you made yourself a perfect little slave for an entire year. And when you finally found out the truth, you killed me and would have gone straight to hell, if a reaper hadn't seen potential in you and pitied you."_

_ "You have no idea how happy I was." Whispered a cruel, male voice. "When I killed you. You stupid slut; who falls in love with their best friend's fiancée? No one loves you, no one wants you. Just do us all a favor and kill yourself."_

_ "You're such a disappointment." Mary looked up in shock; before her stood her mentor, the man who saved her, Eric Slingby. The man who had died just a year ago while she was still at the Academy. The man who's funeral she wasn't a loud to go to because all shinigami thought of him as a traitor. "How can you call yourself a shinigami? You are supposed to be a reaper, not a crying little girl who can't get over her own death." _

_ "I'm sorry!" Mary sobbed, unable to handle the way the man she looked up to for so long was speaking to her. "I'm so sorry!"_

_ "Sorry's not good enough." Eric's voice mixed with the first two and he backhanded her out of her chair. Mary fell into an unending pile of thorny roses, tearing her skin, ripping, __**cutting…**_

Mary woke up in a pool of her own sweat. Her emotional turmoil was so great that, for a few moments, she didn't notice that it wasn't all her own. 'Oh… my walls must have come down during the nightmare.' As she rebuilt her mental barriers, Mary glanced around. She was still in Will's office, lying on his couch, with Diane whimpering beside her, also caught in a nightmare.

Mary was an empath. Ever since she's been reborn as a shinigami, she could feel every emotion of the beings around her. Not just of people, but of animals and plants as well, though on a much more primitive scale. The resulting effect was much more emotional input than most could handle, causing her depression to become worse. Though she learned how to keep out emotions almost imdiatly under the guide of Eric, the occasional strong emotion from her could shatter her barriers like glass.

Will entered at his moment. "Hey, William." Mary whispered. "I'm going to dump this creature in a tub of ice cold water. Nothing else will wake her up." To prove her point, Mary hoisted Diane up on her shoulder, the sleeping girl only grunting in response.

"Very well then." Will didn't even lower his voice. "Please inform the others that we'll be working with the other group of shinigami trainees for today's activity."

"Of course." Mary started walking down the empty halls. It was still quite early in the morning, so no one looked at her funny for carrying her purple-haired friend to their room. She unlocked their door and, once inside, dumped Diane unceremoniously on her bed. Then, Mary took some flowers out of a vase and pored the water all over Max, who was alone in her bed.

With a fertile growl, Max clawed at her eyes to remove the wetness, then glared at her with glowing, blood-shot eyes. "You better be glad I didn't tell Will about your little adventure last night." Mary smirked at Max's blush. "So, something did happen. Not that it's any of my business. Nice eyes, by the way." Max dug her black fingernails into the skin around her eyes. When she removed her hands, her irises were back to normal.

"Thanks." Mary knew it wasn't just for waking her up or not telling Will.

"No problem, puppy dog. Do you want to have the honor of waking Ann today?" Max's wolfish grin was enough answer for her. A few minutes later, Diane's screams echoed throughout the Headquarters.

_ "I WILL MURDER YOU ALL WITH A SPOON!"_

**Sorry for the long wait. I was busy with other fanfics. I'd like to tell everyone that I have found a system for writing fanfics on time, so I'm proud to say I'll update again sometime in the next two weeks. **

**If you want more of Mary's back story, I'll try to put it up as soon as it's finished.**

**Fun fact: the 'I'll murder you all with a spoon' thing was something I really said to the people that I base Max and Mary off of. Not that they were paying attention to me at the time…**


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